Working Weekends.

I have been in full time employment for 6 years. For 5 of those, I've worked Monday to Friday (albeit not 9-5, that would be a total dream. More like 7-4 or 6-3 or overnight or....... The glamorous life of a Visual Merchandiser). I love my weekends. I love being able to wake up of my own accord on Saturdays and Sundays and think, should I spend my day at a museum/gallery/park/market? If so, which one?! Or, should I just stay in bed watching Netflix and drinking tea. I like to be able to make that choice.

The only time I enjoy working weekends is when I get a call much like the following..."Elouise, what's your availability for next weekend? You're needed in our *insert new city here* store."

This is exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago when I got to work in our Nuremberg store. I've been to Germany a fair few times, I love Berlin and have friends there which always makes visiting fun, I've gone on day trips to the Christmas market in Aachen a few times which just adds to the magical feeling of my favourite season and I did a store opening in Munich which wasn't my favourite place I've visited (read: I didn't enjoy it there at all!) but a pal who moved there is very determined to change my mind with a return visit.

However, back to Nuremberg. I totally loved it there! This was largely due to fantastic weather and working late shifts which meant we were able to have a wonder round the city during the day. I rarity while working away.

There were churches everywhere. And they were huge! You literally couldn't walk down a street without a vast, Gothic piece of architecture looming. The city is also all within castle walls which gave the city an almost toy town feel. The castle itself is at the top of the hill and you can wonder round the grounds. The castle isn't like English castles, ruins amid plush greenery. Think Game of Thrones. I was in my element. The proportions of the castle were crazy, huge doors, tiny windows. This all added to the feeling that you weren't in a real place, more like walking round a film set.

All in all, a wonderful weekend spent exploring a new city. Definitely somewhere I want to return to.

By Elouise Wolf

GUY BOURDIN: IMAGE MAKER

Had a perfect London afternoon yesterday and was treated by the beautiful Rachel to spend a couple of hours at the Guy Bourdin exhibition at Somerset House.

Guy Bourdin: Image Maker is a collection of over 100 photographs spanning a photography career of over 40 years. Included was the "Walking Legs" series which is a campaign commissioned by Charles Jourdan that has never been shown in it's entirety. Accompanying the series was an unseen fashion film of his road-trip around the UK in 1979.

The exhibition was amazing and I'm always drawn to people's work that is the total opposite of what I do. All photography work I have ever done is black and white and usually quite natural shots. I loved the use of colour throughout Bourdin's work and the whole staged and theatrical feel of it all. It's the same reason I love the work of David LaChapelle and Tim Walker.

Throughout the exhibition, there were a few films being shown including a room with 4 screens set up to make you feel truly immersed in the footage. Paintings and rough sketches were also included throughout and anyone who knows me will appreciate how excited I got at the polaroid series (I did a project of my own in uni called "The Polaroid Project").

We also popped in to "Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and The Advent of Punk" which was incredible. There were some amazing photographs with some excellent stories and explanations attached but going on a Saturday lunchtime probably wasn't the best time for this one. I wanted to read everything but being so busy, I felt like I was constantly in the way. I will definitely be heading back for this one but may think a bit more carefully about what time I head down.

As always, a outfit snap was a must. Especially when you have THE BEST BACKGROUND EVER!

(Leather Jacket - Schott, Duster Coat - Urban Outfitters, T-Shirt - an old The Cure one I bought when I saw them in 2004, Jeans - Topshop, Boots - Office, Bag - Topshop)

Guy Bourdin: Image Maker is on until 15th March 2015 - entrance fee £9.00

Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and The Advent of Punk is on until 25th January 2015 - free

New Year.

So 2015 is upon us, something which makes me incredibly happy. 2014 wasn't the best for a number of reasons and come December, I was counting down the days for the year to be over. I really don't like wishing time away.

Like most people, I have been thinking about resolutions and what I want to achieve/experience this year. While this is nothing new, I feel like I've literally hit the ground running.

G E T  F I T - when I lived in Leeds, I was at the gym around 4 times a week. I loved it. Since moving to London, I've indulged too much in my other love. Pizza. It doesn't help that to move gyms, my membership would increase to £125 per month! So I thought, I can sit around eating pizza or I can get moving. I've since signed up to do a 10K in a couple of weeks and the Hackney Half in May. Fingers crossed I'll complete it this time in under 2 hours!

T R A V E L - To be fair, I don't do too badly for travelling but I feel there is always room for improvement. I have flights booked for the Easter weekend to visit friends in Copenhagen and then possible trips to Vienna and Berlin and that's before a summer holiday and anything work throws my way!

E X P E R I E N C E - Again, not doing too badly with this one. I have tickets for 4 pretty big gigs coming up, an evening at the theatre booked and plans in motion for a festival in the summer. I feel like this is the easiest one as I do a lot in my spare time but sometimes, it feels a bit same old same old. I'm going to make a point of looking for events that are happening in places I wouldn't usually venture too and make sure I take full advantage of everything London has to offer, especially in the summer.

B E  H A P P Y - I feel like this one is massively generic but a lot of last year I was doing things that I felt I should be doing rather than doing things because I wanted to. This will not be happening anymore. If I don't like something or it doesn't do it for me, it can do one.

B L O G - This is the only one I feel I have been slacking on so far. Seeing as it's already the 14th and I'm writing a new year blog post. Ooops. I WILL BE MORE 'ON IT' THIS YEAR. I promise.

What are your new year resolutions and aims?